Adidas Nitrocharge 2.0 – Boot Review

The Adidas Nitrocharge 2.0, is the mid-tier release in the Nitrocharge silo. The concept itself should be up for innovation of the year in the soccer world in my opinion. Thanks to the boss (cheers boss), I’ve been closing out the outdoor season up here in the Great White North in them.

Given that the Nitrocharge silo is designed for the player who is “the engine” of a soccer team and given that the boot I was testing is the second tier release (falls under the category: Economical), I was curious if the boot would be “the economy engine”.

You can search for pairs of Nitrocharge 2.0 at eBay.

FIRST TAKE

I haven’t worn a mid-tier release in a good couple of years, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when the boots arrived. I did little research on the upper materials so that I wasn’t completely in the dark on what to expect. That being said the unboxing contained a surprise and a bit of a let down. The surprise was the inclusion of the mesh portion on the outside of each boot wrapping around to the back of the boot, the only Nitrocharge I’d seen in person was the Nitrocharge 3.0 (at one of those god awful “One size better fit everyone, because we say so” Sporting Good/Department Stores), and it is entirely constructed with a synthetic leather upper. From the welcome surprise of the mesh portion, was the synthetic leather which aesthetically is a bit of a let down (disclaimer: I’m a K-Leather fan!), as it comes across looking shiny and cheap for my taste.

The Blue Beauty/Running White/Electricity colourway was definitely designed to draw attention to the new release, and I know personally I’d have preferred a bit more muted colourway (maybe in the vein of the adiPower Predator’s Black and Warning Orange).

BREAK IN and FIT

The boots arrived in a size 9 US which is a half size smaller than I normally wear, and I can definitely say that they fit true to size, while my toes were crushed with the boots, they were a bit more snug than I prefer. The boots also came across a bit on the narrow side, I don’t know if the 2.0’s Energy Sling had anything to do with that but, without a doubt I haven’t worn a pair of boots looser than I did the Nitrocharge 2.0’s.

As for the break in, they got me through 90 minutes the day they came in with no complaints, so they’re definitely a boot which can go from the box to the pitch without any major concerns.

[Also: Adidas Nitrocharge 1.0 Review]

THE GOOD

For a mid-tier release I was pleasantly surprised with the overall performance of the boot. Despite the synthetic leather not appealing to me aesthetics wise, there was no noticeable difference when it came to my touch on the ball. The Energy Sling technology (TPU on the 2.o as opposed to the rubber compound on the 1.0) seemed to add a bit more pop when I was striking the ball. However, the biggest praise I have is for the mesh section of the boot. The rear of the boot featured the mesh padding for heel protection. It was wonderful to have, I was caught a couple of times on the rear of my boot going around people, and the padding did it’s job perfectly allowing me to continue playing without any temporary pain. For a mid-tier boot Adidas has put quite a bit of thought into it, and managed to keep the weight down to a respectable 10oz.

THE BAD

This said there were a couple of gripes I had with the 2.0’s. With the 1.0’s the mesh portion of the upper wraps the entire rear of the boot from the piping of the Energy Sling on the outside of the boot to the same spot on the inside of the boot, with the 2.0’s the inside of the boot sees the mesh replaced with the synthetic leather, which on the left boot saw a crease in the upper which I was never able to get smoothed out. The other major gripe I came across was playing during rain, the synthetic leather upper got slick and as a result I found balls slipping when I went to receive a pass, which wasn’t a great feeling in a semi-final playoff matchup.

THE ECONOMY ENGINE?

At a hair under 100 bucks, I wanted to know if this boot would stand up as a solid release for that player who just gets stuck in for 90 minutes but doesn’t have the cash to splash on top-spec boots. The answer is absolutely, in fact if you’re on a budget and play any position other than forward, you could choose a lot worse than the Nitrocharge 2.0. If it wasn’t for the fact that the boot caught the eye of a teammate who has just blown through an older pair of boots (see the list of reasons you need new boots!) I’d be keeping it in my kitbag as a backup boot!

ADIDAS NITROCHARGE 2.0 – THE SUMMARY

About: The little brother of the new Nitrocharge silo.
The Good: Excellent protection and above average all around performance.
The Bad: Synthetic Leather on the inside of the foot prone to creasing, upper gets slick in the rain leading to misplays.
Price: Around the $100 mark, making them an “economical” option.
Would I Buy? If I were on a budget absolutely! However, my introduction to the series has further piqued my curiosity about the Nitrocharge 1.0.

Rating out of 10: A strong 7.5, would have been an 8 if it weren’t for the issues under rain.

You can search for pairs of Nitrocharge 2.0 at eBay.